WE BELIEVE that a private owner of a rural property, operating an agricultural or timber business in his own self-interest, will almost always achieve a better environmental outcome than one forced upon that owner. Because, rural residents are conscientious individuals, self-motivated to manage their land interests responsibly, we believe that no one cares as much about the topsoil on a farm as the family which owns that topsoil. Topsoil to a farmer is like cash in a bank, like hay in a barn.

WE BELIEVE that a timber harvest is often the best thing to do to a forest. Timber is no different from a home garden. It is just that the plants are larger, the land area is bigger. Sometimes a garden needs the weeds pulled out; sometimes the ripest tomato should be plucked before it rots.

WE BELIEVE that "rules imposed from above or from the outside" rarely offer an optimum solution to economic matters. Indeed, such good intentions often result in alternative and undesirable outcomes that were not intended. In that line, we believe that personal exposure of urban citizens to a rural environment is often the best way for urbanites to learn about rural areas and the rural ethos...and learn to make responsible decisions about it.

WE SUPPORT rural life and a respect for the outdoors. We respect the many private citizens who actually own these rural properties.

WE SUPPORT creative means to appreciate, conserve, and maintain working farmland and professionally-managed timber land.

WE SUPPORT educational endeavors designed to encourage greater understanding of rural living, the ethos of commercial farming and timbering, and the responsible use of natural resources, including hunting and fishing.

If you think much as we do; if you can teach; and if you need some financial help in an area we may be interested in...then click on "How to Apply".

Together, we'll figure out a solution.

For starters... we asked our neighbor Frank Levering to write a book for newcomers to our countryside. This charming new book is authored by a Virginia farmer who runs a Patrick County cherry orchard (now 100 years, still a family business) and helps his wife Wanda Urbanska produce the PBS show "Simple Living TV". Frank's new book introduces urbanites to "country culture"... with Frank's warm welcoming style, sharing the unwritten rules by which rural people live and get along.